Assistant Project Manager

About the Role

The APM exists to make sure nothing slips between the office and the field.

This role is one leg of a three-legged stool: Site Superintendent, Project Manager, APM. If any leg isn’t strong enough, the stool falls. The APM keeps Sage accurate, submittals moving, and subcontractors coordinated.

Projects are spread across the Bay Area (Sonoma, Los Altos Hills, San Francisco) and you will make periodic site visits when the work requires it (mileage is reimbursed). But the center of gravity for this role is a desk, a screen, and a phone. Your field presence is what makes it possible for everyone else’s field presence to be productive.

The person who thrives here doesn’t wait to be told what needs doing. They see a gap, they own it. They receive a verbal instruction, they confirm it in writing. They notice a spec doesn’t match the drawing, they surface it before the order goes out. They operate on a three-word cultural standard: state the obvious.

Key Outcomes

• The submittal process moves without friction. Specs are reviewed against drawings and architect intent before anything reaches the field. Gaps are caught at the desk, not discovered on site — protecting schedule, budget, and the client relationship before they’re ever at risk.
• Sage 100 runs accurately and on time. Subcontracts are written, change orders are processed, and reports are pulled without being asked. No one has to chase status — freeing PMs and principals to focus on the client-facing work that drives the firm’s reputation.
• No one wonders where a project stands. Project Managers, Superintendents, subcontractors, and architects receive information proactively. Subcontractors receive “no thank you” letters within 24 hrs of a bid decision. Verbal commitments are always followed by written confirmations so trust in the process compounds rather than erodes.
• Instructions are always clear, repeated, and reinforced. Over-communicating, confirming, flagging issues before they become problems. The standard is shown, not just described — so the next person stepping into any adjacent role already knows what great looks like.
• The firm isn’t overly dependent on any one person. Clear documentation, transferable systems, a team that is measurably more capable after this person has been here than before.
• Projects don’t get derailed by upstream documentation failures. The APM is the reason scope gaps, quantity errors, and spec mismatches get caught before they become cost overruns — protecting profitability and the firm’s reputation for delivering what it promises.

What Success Looks Like

• Sage 100 is operating effectively without help in under 30 days. The submittal queue is understood, organized, and moving. You’ve introduced yourself to every subcontractor you’ll be coordinating with. The PMs you support trust that you follow through — which means they’re spending less time checking and more time managing the work that actually requires them.
• Change orders and subcontracts are being consistently processed same-day well before the 90-day mark. Submittals are reviewed (not just routed) with discrepancies surfaced before they reach the field. You have a written confirmation habit people have started to rely on. No scope gap or spec mismatch has made it to site that you could have caught.
• You become the person the PM leans on when they need to know something has been handled. You’ve contributed to at least one process or communication improvement the team has adopted. The next person in this role will benefit from what you documented.

What You Need

• Sage 100. If Sage 100 isn’t part of your current or recent daily work, this role isn’t the right fit right now.
• “State the obvious” communication discipline. You have taken the word “assumption” out of your vocabulary.
• Construction background with submittal depth. Critical thinking in submittals (not merely exposure). You’ve noticed when a wall-mounted fixture spec went in for a deck-mount application. You’ve caught a quantity short before the order went out.
• Full ownership under pressure. Clients are spending personal money. When something goes sideways, the question is: what will you do differently next time? Not: whose fault is it? The right person answers the first question without being asked, and never deflects to the second.

What Helps

• Quantity take-off experience
• Procore project manager module experience
• Bluebeam experience
• Microsoft Project or Smartsheets experience
• Two to five years as an APM or PC

What Makes This Role Hard

• The bar isn’t lowered when things get busy.
• Leadership is direct. If you read directness as hostility, this will be exhausting. If you find it clarifying, it’s a significant benefit.
• Mistakes are visible. There’s no department to absorb an error or obscure a slip. Your work is seen by the principals directly.
• The firm is still building its own processes. If you need a fully systematized playbook before you can operate, this isn’t your environment.
• The role itself is fluid. The APM/PM line shifts depending on the project and the people. Defined job boundaries are not a priority here.

What Makes This Role Worth It

• Principals who are present. Questions are always welcome. In fact silence is a problem, not curiosity.
• Colleagues who take the work seriously and their colleagues personally.
• You will be known at this firm. Your contributions will be visible.
• Base salary: $80,000 – $130,000 depending on experience
• PTO: 25 days from Day 1, including sick pay
• 401(k): 6% employer match
• Health: $405/month employer contribution toward individual coverage (CalChoice plan)
• Vision/Dental: Plans available; employee-paid
• Mileage: IRS standard rate reimbursement for work-related travel

Resort properties in Mexico and Tahoe available to employees

Compensation:
$80,000-$130,000 per year